Customize message and file retention policies

By default, Slack keeps all your messages and files for the lifetime of your workspace. If you’d like, you can have them deleted after a set amount of time by setting a custom retention policy.

Custom retention policies can be set up for the entire workspace or configured for specific channels. Retention settings apply to all messages and files, including the ones that have been pinned or starred by members.

Note: Slackbot will notify all Workspace Owners of changes to retention policies. Setting or changing a policy won't immediately delete anything — this will occur the next time your policy runs.

Message retention

There are four options when choosing message retention for channels and direct messages:

Keep everythingSlack will keep all messages exchanged in your workspace, and logs of user's message edits and deletions, found in a data export.

Keep all messages, but don't track revisionsSlack will keep all messages, but will not keep logs of what the original text was, prior to user’s message edits and deletions.

Delete messages and their revisions after... This setting allows you to determine a period of time after which Slack will permanently delete messages (including message edit and deletion logs) from channels and direct messages. This setting can be as short as one day.

Let workspace members override these settingsThis setting allows members to set their own retention period — making it shorter or longer — for private channels and direct messages. Workspace Owners will be able to adjust this for public channels, too.

Set a message retention policy

Standard and Plus plans

Enterprise Grid plan

Here’s how to set a retention policy for channels and direct messages:

From your desktop, click your workspace name in the top left.

Select Administration, then Workspace settings from the menu.

Under Settings, expand Message Retention & Deletion.

Click Save, then Confirm Settings.

Remember: If members are allowed to set different retention policies for direct messages and private channels they are a part of, those policies will override the workspace-wide policy.

Org Owners can set a message retention policy that applies to every workspace in their organization. If a policy is set, Slackbot will notify the Primary Org Owner and request approval to apply it. With a policy in place, Workspace Owners won’t have the option to adjust message retention for their individual workspaces.

Review org-level message retention policies:

Set workspace-level message retention policies:

With an org-level policy in place, Workspace Owners won’t be able to set message retention at the workspace-level. These settings will be locked and non-adjustable. But if there is no org-level policy, Workspace Owners can set message retention for their workspace. Here’s how:

From your desktop, click your workspace name in the top left.

Select Administration, then Workspace settings from the menu.

Under Settings, expand Message Retention & Deletion.

Click Save, then Confirm Settings.

Remember: If members are allowed to set different retention policies for direct messages and private channels they are a part of, those policies will override the workspace-wide policy.

Configure settings for a specific channel

From your desktop, open the channel whose retention settings you'd like to configure.

Click the gear icon to open the Channel Settings menu.

Click Edit message retention.

Select Usecustom retention settings for this conversation.

Choose how long you'd like to save messages in this channel and click Save.

Check the box next to Yes, apply these new settings, then click the button Apply Settings.

File retention

When setting your file retention policy, there are two options to choose from:

Keep all filesSlack will keep all shared files for the lifetime of your workspace.

Keep all files, only for a set number of daysSlack will permanently delete files (snippets, posts, uploaded files, and those shared via apps like Dropbox or Google Drive) older than the number of days you choose.

Note: Files shared via apps like Dropbox or Google Drive remain stored in the service they originate from. So, deleting them from Slack won't impact the original files.

Set a file retention policy

Standard and Plus plans

Enterprise Grid plans

Here’s how to set a retention policy for files shared in your workspace: